(The Center Square) – A new report ranking congressional voting records based on “biblically based principles” found sharp divides within Michigan’s congressional delegation, with Republicans scoring consistently higher than Democrats.
The 2026 Congressional Biblical Business Index, released by the Christian Employers Alliance in partnership with the Institute for Legislative Analysis, analyzed more than 82,000 votes cast by all 535 members of Congress.
The report measured lawmakers’ alignment with what the organizations described as “biblically based positions,” examining issues including abortion, gender identity, religious liberty, law enforcement and economic policy.
“The CEA analyses cut through the meaningless campaign rhetoric of politicians and reveal where lawmakers actually stand on the issues utilizing their vote records,” Fred McGrath, president of the ILA, previously told The Center Square. “The new level of transparency the Biblical Business Index provides is designed to help every American—regardless of their religious or political views.”
Currently, Michigan has 15 members of Congress. Of those, seven are Republicans (all in the U.S. House) and eight are Democrats.
Among Michigan lawmakers, U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett received the highest score in the delegation at 84.62%, ranking 102nd nationally. He was followed by U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman at 79.72%, U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg at 77.88%, and U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga at 77.13%.
Other Republican members of Michigan’s delegation also scored highly, including U.S. Rep. John James at 77%, U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar at 76.65%, and U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain at 75.12%.
Democrats in the delegation scored substantially lower. U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet received the highest Democratic score from the state at 19.38%, followed by U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten at 12.56% and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens at 10.67%.
U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar scored 7.96%, while U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin received 7.59% and U.S. Sen. Gary Peters scored 7.38%. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib received the lowest scores in the delegation at 4.07% and 2.26%, respectively.
“Too often, business rankings focus only on taxes and regulations,” said Margaret Iuculano, president of the Christian Employers Alliance. “These rankings are designed to help faith-based business leaders make informed decisions about where to invest, grow, and create jobs by showing business leaders where states are trending both economically and socially.”
According to the report, it reviews every bill considered during the most recent session of Congress and evaluated lawmakers based on their votes’ alignment with principles tied to “Scripture, limited government, and longstanding Judeo-Christian social principles.”
Compared to the 2024 index, several Republican members of Michigan’s congressional delegation saw their scores decline in this report, while some Democrats saw slight increases.
U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain dropped from 82.35% in 2024 to 75.12% in 2025, while U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg fell from 81.12% to 77.88%. That dropped McClain from a ranking of 134th to 240th. U.S. Rep. John James was one of the few Republicans to improve, rising from 73.3% in 2024 to 77% in 2025.
On the Democrat side, U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten also declined from 15.82% to 12.56%. Some Democrats improved their scores, including U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, who increased from 4.98% to 10.67%, and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who rose from 0.51% to 2.26%.
The latest report also reflected changes in Michigan’s congressional delegation following the 2024 election cycle.
Freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett entered the rankings in 2025 with the highest score in Michigan at 84.62%, while Democrat U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet debuted as the highest-scoring Democrat from the state at 19.38%. Democrat U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin saw her score fall sharply from 16.84% in 2024, when she served in the House, to 7.59% in the Senate rankings for 2025.
The Christian Employers Alliance said the rankings are intended to help faith-based employers evaluate political and regulatory climates across the country.
“They highlight where faith-based employers can most freely operate according to their religious beliefs,” Iuculano said, “And where lawmakers are most consistently voting in alignment with biblical principles.”
